What's on

Creative Careers Centre

The Royal College of Music is delighted to announce the launch of its pioneering Creative Careers Centre, formerly known as the Woodhouse Professional Development Centre.

Since its foundation in 1999 the Woodhouse Professional Development Centre has gone from strength to strength, always maintaining its original mission of supporting musicians in bridging the gap between student and professional life. The department's careers services, offered to both students and graduates of up to five years, are globally recognised and include:

Tailored one-to-one career development sessions and regular workshops and seminars in CV / biography writing, business, marketing and self-promotion

An artist development scheme - RCM Gateway - offering musicians valuable performance and programming experience at a broad range of venues across the UK

A Professional Engagements Service offering paid work at events, freelance orchestral and session work, as well as opportunities for accompanists, composers and arrangers

Creative projects for both composers and musicians in collaboration with some of London's most prestigious venues

Enterprise-focused presentations in conjunction with Global Entrepreneurship Week, for which the department was given a High Impact Award in 2014

An annual large-scale careers day with leading industry experts

The Creative Careers Centre's exciting new developments for the next academic year will see musicians and composers working in response to selected exhibitions at the Royal Academy of Arts; the rollout of the ‘Memory Lane’ scheme for pianists wherein they perform on Alzheimer's wards; and developing a new ‘Singing away the Blues’ research project for mothers suffering with postnatal depression, in collaboration with the RCM's Centre for Performance Science.

Diana Roberts, Creative Careers Centre Manager, comments “Moving forward, we have exciting plans to build even more new and innovative career development partnerships, expand the centre’s online provision for career support, and offer further entrepreneurial support for musicians wishing to start up their own businesses.”

The Royal College of Music remains grateful to Paul Woodhouse, whose legacy has enabled a specialist department to support thousands of musicians forge a pathway in their chosen vocations. The RCM is fully committed to continuing this legacy, and most crucially to supporting its musicians as they enter the ever-changing and competitive music industry.